Israel temporarily delays ground offensive on Gaza due to bad weather

(Patria) - The Israeli army has delayed its planned incursion into the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip for several days due to poor weather conditions, the New York Times reported late last night.

The ground offensive was supposed to begin this weekend but was postponed partly due to cloudy skies that would make it difficult for Israeli pilots and drone operators to provide air support to ground forces, the New York Times reported, citing three unnamed senior Israeli officers.

The Israeli army said last night that preparations for an "integrated and coordinated attack from air, sea and land" on the Gaza Strip were nearing completion.

What is Israel's goal?

Israel's goal is to eliminate the political and military leadership of the Islamist organization Hamas, which fired thousands of rockets at Israel, while hundreds of its fighters breached the border in an unprecedented surprise attack last week that killed more than 1,300 people, the German news agency dpa reported.

Israel responded by launching retaliatory airstrikes on the coastal enclave that have so far killed more than 2,300 people. The New York Times writes that a ground operation could embroil Israel in months of urban warfare, Hina reported.

Iran warned on Saturday in a social media post that the situation could spiral out of control with "far-reaching consequences" if Israeli "war crimes and genocide" are not stopped.

Tens of thousands of Hamas fighters are believed to be hiding in bunkers and hundreds of kilometers of underground tunnels in the northern Gaza Strip, according to the NYT report.

Hamas tunnels

The Israeli army expects Hamas to try to prevent their advance by blowing up tunnels as ground forces approach, the report said.

Hamas also plans to attack behind Israeli lines using a complex tunnel system, the NYT writes, adding that the strategic dilemma is that the organization's forces can be particularly effective at entrenching themselves with hostages underground.

The Israeli offensive is expected to involve infantry units, as well as tanks and engineering corps, the US newspaper reported, citing officials.

Ground forces are expected to receive protection from fighter jets, helicopters, drones, and artillery from land and sea.

Blockade of Gaza

Israel has sealed off the narrow Palestinian territory on the Mediterranean Sea and stopped the entry of food, fuel, water and medicine, dpa reported.

Israel's threat of a ground offensive aimed at crushing the militant group Hamas moved closer on Friday, when Israel gave about one million residents of northern Gaza around 24 hours to evacuate to the southern half of the coastal enclave.

Yesterday, Israel told Gaza residents they now had until 4 p.m. for safe passage south along approved routes.

Hamas tried to prevent civilians from heeding Israel's call to evacuate, saying people should not fall for what it described as "propaganda messages".

Panic in Gaza

Witnesses in Gaza described growing panic as people fled in cars, trucks, donkey carts and on foot along the area's only main road.

Hamas said that 70 people fleeing south were killed and 200 wounded in ongoing Israeli airstrikes.

Most of the victims are children and women. Three convoys were hit in a "massacre", a spokesman for the Islamist organization said on Friday evening. There was no confirmation from the Israeli military, and reports are being examined.

More rockets were fired from Gaza towards Tel Aviv and central Israel yesterday, but there are no reports of injuries.

At least 265 Israeli soldiers are among those killed in Hamas terrorist attacks, military spokesman Richard Hecht said on Saturday.

The vast majority of those killed in the attacks are civilians. Hecht stated that 120 people were abducted from Israeli territory.

According to Hamas's military wing, more than 20 hostages from Israel have been killed in Israeli airstrikes.

Human shield

The Israeli army claims that airstrikes only target militant locations and accuses Hamas of using Gaza residents as human shields.

There has been much international criticism of Israel's demand for people to leave northern Gaza, with the United Nations calling on Israel to rescind its order, pointing to the threat of a "catastrophic situation".

The top diplomats of Turkey and Egypt called on Israel yesterday to allow safe passage for humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Across the Gaza Strip, more than 2 million people are at risk as drinking water supplies run out, and there are no medicines or medical supplies in overcrowded hospitals.

At a UN base in the southern Gaza Strip, where the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has relocated its operations, drinking water is also running out.